Discover Top Posts Tagged with #insect decline

Another likely reason my insect results were so bad on my recent trip to the region :(

"Staggering 82% loss in moth numbers at Canterbury sites amid major decline nationwide"

From turning out the lights to letting leaves rot, these small steps can create big changes at home or in the wild

Insects are in trouble. Around the world, scientists are reporting catastrophic declines in their numbers, even in nature reserves that are largely protected from human touch. We are also beginning to see huge drops in the populations of other animals – such as birds – that depend on insects as food. Many of the drivers of those declines are structural, and require strong action by governments to turn around. But there are clear, easy steps that anyone can take to support the insect world. For species under such pressure, any respite is important, and we can create refuges for insects in a world increasingly hostile to their survival. In creating better habitats for insects, you can also reap the benefits: thriving gardens, more songbirds, and a healthier web of life. Here are 25 small, achievable, science-backed actions you can take today – at home, in the garden, or out in the city. Turn out the lights Everyone has seen moths circle a bulb at night. But if that light stays on, researchers estimate one-third of insects trapped in its orbit will die before morning. Light pollution is a huge driver of insect declines: it changes insect behaviour and can even make leaves too tough for them to eat. It is also a relatively easy one to solve, says Brett Seymoure, a behavioural ecologist at Washington University in St Louis. “Once you turn off a light, it is gone. You don’t have to go and clean up, like you do with most pollutants. I am not saying we need to get rid of light at night, I think we just need to use it wisely.” You can help by switching off your outdoor lights or putting them on a sensor, and shading windows so they’re not shining out into the night. You can also ask your local council to consider switching off some street lights for at least part of the night, particularly in parks and nature reserves – a move that studies have shown benefits insects and saves councils money.

#world #insect decline #sixth mass extinction #things to help #environment

The impact of introduced plants on native biodiversity has emerged as a hot-button issue in ecology. But recent research provides new eviden

How Non-Native Plants Are Contributing to a Global Insect Decline

The impact of introduced plants on native biodiversity has emerged as a hot-button issue in ecology. But recent research provides new evidence that the displacement of native plant communities is a key cause of a collapse in insect populations and is affecting birds as well...

#non-native plants #invasive species #environment #conservation #insect decline #insect #insects #entomology #biodiversity #animals #nature #botany #plants #non-native invasive species

The fascinating world of arthropods is shrinking, but it’s still so large that little is known about many species, and some have yet to be i

A shadow suddenly envelopes an ant as it zigzags through the dry, thorny bushes in Granada’s Sierra Nevada mountains in southern Spain. The head casting the shadow belongs to Alberto Tinaut, who peers at the ant for a few seconds and quickly recognizes an old friend – Rossomyrmex minuchae – an insect that is slowly disappearing from the Iberian peninsula. Tinaut discovered this rare, slave-making ant in 1979 and didn’t see another one for more than 10 years. Now, it’s one of many insect species in decline causing alarm among the scientific community.

#world #insect #insect decline #climate change #agrichemicals #environment #sixth mass extinction

Insect numbers and species decline steeply where agriculture and habitat loss coincide. Preserving natural habitat can reduce losses up to n

Speed read

The world may be facing a devastating “hidden” collapse in insect species due to the twin threats of climate change and habitat loss.

UCL’s Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research has carried out one of the largest-ever assessments of insect declines around the world – assessing three-quarters of a million samples from around 6,000 sites.

The new study, published in Nature, finds that climate-stressed farmland possesses only half the number of insects, on average, and 25% fewer insect species than areas of natural habitat.

Insect declines are greatest in high-intensity farmland areas within tropical countries – where the combined effects of climate change and habitat loss are experienced most profoundly.

The majority of the world’s estimated 5.5 million species are thought to live in these regions – meaning the planet’s greatest abundances of insect life may be suffering collapses without us even realising.

Lowering the intensity of farming by using fewer chemicals, having a greater diversity of crops and preserving some natural habitat can mitigate the negative effects of habitat loss and climate change on insects.

Considering the choices we make as consumers – such as buying shade-grown coffee or cocoa – could also help protect insects and other creatures in the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions.

Long read

#world #insect decline #habitat loss #climate crisis #intensive agriculture #environment #capitalism #sixth mass extinction

LEDs may cause more insect declines than other lights

LED lights’ energy saving properties are making them increasingly common, but they may repel some insects at higher rates than older, halogen-style streetlamps.

“We don’t really understand the cause of insect declines,” said Douglas Boyes, a PhD researcher at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, an independent nonprofit research institute. But he and many other scientists believe light pollution is potentially causing pollinator declines in many parts of the globe.

In a study published recently in Science Advances, Boyes and his colleagues looked at how light is impacting insects. After examining about 500 possible locations with streetlamps in the Thames Valley in the United Kingdom, they found 27 sites with streetlamps that also had a comparable area without streetlamps. They compared the number of caterpillars in the lit and unlit areas...

Read more: https://wildlife.org/leds-may-cause-more-insect-declines-than-other-lights/

#light pollution #insects #insect #entomology #insect decline #animals #nature #science #environment #conservation #ecology #global insect decline

‘Eco-friendly’ lights were found to be worse than sodium ones – but both contribute to insect decline, new research has found.

Streetlights – particularly those that use white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) – not only disrupt insect behavior but are also a culprit behind their declining numbers, a new study carried out in southern England showed today.

Artificial lights at night had been identified as a possible factor behind falling insect populations around the world, but the topic had been under-researched.

To address the question, scientists compared 26 roadside sites consisting of either hedgerows or grass verges that were lit by streetlights, against an equal number of nearly identical sites that were unlit.

They also examined a site with one unlit and two lit sections, all of which were similar in their vegetation.

The team chose moth caterpillars as a proxy for nocturnal insects more broadly, because they remain within a few meters of where they hatched during the larval stage of their lives, before they acquire the ability to fly.

#uk #streetlights #insect #insect decline #light pollution #environment #sixth mass extinction

An app for counting butterflies.

#butterflies #apps #counting nature #insect decline

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